Snowman Fun

Mr.4444 was full of ambition this morning and begged the rest of us lazybones to go outside and build a snowman with him. He didn't get any takers; Kyle had an errand to run, I was cleaning the bathroom and taking a shower, and Kendall was on the computer. After my shower, while cleaning the sink, I heard a knock on the bedroom window and found Mr.4444 whining about how old he felt pushing snowballs and needed help. Cold beotch that I am, I said, "Poor baby....no," and went back to cleaning the bathroom. (Hey, I don't clean very often, so when I do, it doesn't make sense to stop me.)

I did, however, grab my camera and take a few shots. This is my Sundays in My City and Weekly Winners contribution.


Soon, Kyle came home and went out to help his dad...


And, of course, he built it right where anyone driving by will see it and smile. Is this not the cutest snowman you've seen in a while?

Happy Sunday! Visit Unknown Mami and Lotus for more winning photos from around the world.


And speaking of the world, I just want to acknowledge the devastating earthquake that wreaked havoc today in Chile this weekend. My heart goes out to those suffering and am praying for everyone touched by the tragedy.

The Writing is on the Palm

I am so glad the weekend is here; my to-do list got so long, it overflowed onto my hand!


I don't think I'll get a lot of it done this weekend, but I do plan to find some more paper...

Friday Fragments, Episode #83

Take a picture; it'll last longer!
Remember saying that?
I think of Friday Fragments as snapshots in the photo shoot of our lives.

Say, "Cheese!"

[Click on the FF button above to learn the ins and outs of Friday Fragments.]

***

I worked very late tonight and came home to an amazingly clean kitchen, courtesy of my loving husband and son doing a "10-minute Power Clean."
I am so lucky!
What a great way to enter the weekend.

***
Thanks for your well wishes for Mom, which you left here. I've printed out a hard copy to add to my mom's album, and she is going to love it! That said, she was unable to go through with the surgery as planned (Thursday), because she came down with a very bad cold; it's been rescheduled for March 8th.

***

Danged spammers have hit my special blog page with posts about my mom. I switched to Disqus commenting, and it's working well, but I still haven't figured out how to import the Blogger comments to that page successfully. Working on it....

***

I recorded another audio post (see sidebar). It's the Post That Shall be Named, which I have now named Gifts from My Father: Parting Words.

***

If you missed my Baked Mostaccoli post on Mrs.4444 Cooks,
you should check it out;
it would be a terrific recipe for this weekend :)

***

This is really random, but did you know that some kids who sell drugs in high schools have figured out that by removing the drawstring in sweatpants or shorts, they can slide contraband inside the resulting space? What will they think of next?! Customized pockets in their underwear? (Oh, yeah; they've thought of that, too.)

***

Woohoo! Friday Fragments has reached epic proportions! I want to take this time to thank you for visiting some of the blogs of other fragmenters,
since I obviously can't get to every single one in a week's time.

Here's McKlinky for your FRIDAY FRAGMENTS linking pleasure...

There's an App for That?

With today's technology, there are tons of tools out there to make your life easier. I don't have an Ipod Touch (yet), but I'm blown away by the ingenious applications available. For example, you can tour major cities, keep track of your bills, and even compose music with an Ipod Touch or IPhone. There are (I'm sure) thousands of applications out there and more being invented every day. Take this one, for example:

Does my Butt Look Big in these Pants? App. Instead of asking your significant other if your butt looks big, you can take a pic of your butt in the pants in question and the app will honestly tell you if your butt looks big. Think of all the arguments and hurt feelings that could be averted.

Unknown Mami, you really cracked me up with that fragment this week. Please accept this award in thanks...

To order this or any of Unknown Mami's other ingenious Ipod apps, visit Unknown Mami.

Rants and Raves

Rants and Raves is a weekly meme hosted by the charming Little Ms. Blogger.

Rave...Kyle got accepted to the University of Minnesota-St. Paul last week! (Still says he's sticking with U.W. Green Bay, but regardless...pretty cool!)

Rant...The musical, Footloose, was very nice, but we could barely see Kendall in the chorus and certainly couldn't hear her, so that was kind of a bummer.

Rave...Trader Joe's. In case that's not enough to get my point across, I'll add organic blue corn tortilla chips and guacamole with pico de gallo. Mmmmm

Rave...GLEE is starting up again soon :)

Rave...The middle school is currently holding auditions for Willy Wonka, the musical. We do some kick-butt musicals, so I'm really looking forward to the show!

Rave...Got my hair highlighted tonight, and it looks fantastic! I might let it go to hell more often; seeing the incredible transformation was fun! And, to put this in perspective; the last time I saw my "hair stylist," she was 50 pounds heavier! I hardly recognized her! Congratulations, Krista, on your new size 2!!

Rant or Rave... (depending on who you are, I guess)...my view from a stop sign after work today at 3:30pm....I actually loved it. (It is February, after all, and if it's going to be cold, we might as well have snow, in my opinion.)

Rave...Thank you so much for all the well-wishes you've left here for Mom. She is going to feel so special when I show them to her :) Rant...Can't get those comments to show up in Disqus, now that I've made the switch. I do still have them in Blogger and will print them out for her. (Don't worry; I'll figure it out soon...)

Rave...I love you guys. Truly. Your friendships are treasures to me. Thank you for stopping by.

Split-Pea, Split-a-Gut

My friend, Diane, was babysitting her young grandson, who was lamenting about how "grandmas always make you clean your plate." She shared a childhood memory of her own:

"When I was a little girl, my mom made me eat everything on my plate, too. In fact, I
remember a time when she insisted that I eat a bowl of pea soup that she had served me. I refused to eat it, and I remember sitting there til almost midnight."

The little boy listened intently and then went off to play.

Fifteen minutes later, the troubled tyke returned and asked,

"Grandma, did your mom really pee in your soup???"

Mmm Monday

Want to be adored? Revered? Admired? Popular? Bring this to a potluck or make it for your family this week. I promise you'll thank me.

Weekly Winners/Sunday in My City

Weekly Winners and Sundays in my City are two fun photo memes that are a great way to start your week :)

Remember this gorgeous bride from our Halloween party?

Well, believe it or not, that bride was a man! I know--it's simply shocking, as shocking as this display during the party!

I can't tell you how happy I was to be invited to their real wedding (which took place this weekend). Jed and Sara looked like royalty...

And for the record, there was no garter display at the real reception, which was spectacular; they had ice sculptures, amazing hors d'oeuvres (Shout out to Liz and Michelle for helping with this spelling!!), and even these fun bloody-Mary mementos.

As if that wasn't fun enough, they even had a Photo Booth! Since Sara's parents are good friends of ours from the neighborhood, at one point a bunch of us neighbors piled in there and took some pretty funny photos. Sorry I don't have those shots, but here are some of me and Mr.4444 being cute.
Sorry for the poor quality here; they actually look quite nice in real life. The photo people took another copy and put it in an album for the bride and groom, and we wrote a little note for them next to it on the page. How cool is that?!

And finally, I snapped this sweet shot at the wedding with my zoom (but no flash). I think you'll agree; it's still precious.

For more photo fun and shots from all over the world, visit Sarcastic Mom and Unknown Mami--You'll be glad you did :)

She's Going Under the Knife

My mom is having back surgery on Thursday, the 23rd. The complicated name is Bilateral Hemilaminectomy (say that three times fast--it's fun!), but it basically means that her back hurts so much she can't stand upright or walk much, and since she plans to live another 80 years, they're going in! The risks are very low, and recovery is pretty easy, so we're all feeling very confident that she'll soon be pitching her walker to the curb. She'll spend one night in the hospital, and plans to attend Kendall's musical three days later (haha), so we'll see....

That said, since my mom (Elsie, Grandma C) loves it when people talk about her on my blog, I thought I would ask you to leave a little note for her in the comments. I don't know... just some well wishes, or maybe say something about one of the many posts I've written about her (all collected here). I'm spending the night with her Friday, and I will have my laptop (and wireless stolen from the neighbors, I hope!) I know your comments will tickle Mom and help in her recovery, so if you'd take the time, we'd both appreciate it.

I've turned comments off on this post. Will you please leave the comment here, so that it's on "Mom's" page? (You'll see a duplicate of this post there.)

THANKS!

Friday Fragments, Episode #82

I've been training hard all year, but especially this week, for the Olympic event known as Freestyle Fragmenting. What? How can there not be such a thing? That's ridiculous; everyone knows that Friday Fragments take a LOT of work and skill.

What? Oh, yeah; Friday Fragments are just about the easiest, yet most-satisfying blogging event known to man. Okay. So, it may not be an Olympic event, but I do love it every bit as much as staying up til the crack of dawn watching the Olympics. Don't you? [Confused? Read FF how-to's here.] Let the frags begin!

***My heart broke for Hope Johnson, American Idol contestant who (ironically, her name is Hope, right?) got cut this week. She seems like such a fighter, having grown up in poverty and keeping such a positive attitude. I wish she would have made it a little longer.

***I switched my commenting back to allow Anonymous comments and am again getting stupid spam comments, buried on old posts. Don't worry, Judy & Lisa, I will take one for the team until I can decide on a different system.

***Speaking of spammers, some jerk put a car up for sale on AutoTrator (misspelling intentional) in my neighbor's name! A stranger came to her door in the evening, asking to see the car. Of course, she didn't have one to show him. Later, he called her (unlisted) phone number to ask about the "car for sale" again. She ended up confirming for herself that "she" had a car for sale on-line. The police and website were notified. Very unsettling...

***I subbed for a health teacher on Thursday and showed the puberty video he had left for me. I'm not ashamed to admit that I learned a few things. Hey, they didn't have frank videos like that back in the day; I just got the period video and ZERO other information from school and my mom. Thankfully, I'm all caught up now.

***I've received a ransom note notice from Quicken that if I don't pay the $80+ for their upgrade, I will no longer be able to download my banking transactions on-line to the Quicken program I've been using for about ten years. Now what? (I'm not paying it.) Any suggestions, other than the good old-fashioned paper register?

***Forgive me if you've emailed me and were beginning to wonder if I'd fallen off the face of the earth. I will definitely get to my email this weekend, but this week has been another crazy one; I'm working on it (and my Favorite Friday Fragments from last week, too.)

***Kendall is in the chorus of Footloose (the musical), at Tinytown H.S., which opens this weekend. She is loving being in the chorus this year; they have a lot of downtime when they're not on stage, and she gets to hang out with her friends. The kids in the star roles this year are reportedly fantastic; I can't wait to see the show (though my tickets are for next weekend), so I just might have to go twice.

***May your weekend be filled with the things and people you love, and may it give you the rest you need :) Hugs to each of you!

It's time for the exhibition of your Freestyle Fragmenting! Please put your FRIDAY FRAGMENTS link here:

Swimming Lesson

Kyle is 6'2" and weighs about 140 pounds. He's been on the skinny-scale since infancy; note the bone-thin legs in this shot, for example...

(I don't know why no one ever reported us for suspicion of starving our kid!)

When he was six, and then seven, and then eight, I tried putting Kyle in swimming lessons at the local pool. $30 for four-to-six weeks of 30-minute lessons, a couple of times per week. Now remember, this is Wisconsin, so summer temperatures are not always warm, and indoor pools can be chilly at times, which is not conducive to keeping warm; skinny Wisconsin kids don't stand a chance in such conditions. It was fine when it was his turn, but the rest of the time, he'd be clinging to the side of the pool, teeth chattering, lips turning purple, etc. Although he liked the idea of swimming lessons, it just never worked out. I finally gave up on the lessons.

Then, someone suggested that I try private lessons, so I drove Kyle all the way to Tinytown and hired a high school kid to give him private lessons for $10 a shot. Within three one-on-one lessons, he was swimming like a fish, and the rest is history. He even joined a swim team that year. We have video from a meet that year, swimming the butterfly stroke his first (and last) time. He was in the water a full, agonizing minute or more past the time the other kids were out of the pool; it was painful to watch. He had fun that year but said he didn't like being cold waiting his turn for events at swim meets. He finished out the year, and that was it. Or so I thought.

Flash forward five years to tenth grade; Kyle decided to join the Tinytown High School swim team and lettered his first year! Last year (11th grade), he did the same and was elected by his teammates to receive the "Sportsmanship" award at the end of the season. He's loved being in Swim.

A few weeks ago, when we heard Kyle was swimming butterfly in the 100 meter Individual Medley at a meet, Mr.4444 and I looked at each other in surprise and winced, but our eyes opened wide as we watched our boy gracefully glide through the strokes. No, he didn't take first, or even second place, and probably not even third (I don't remember), but he surprised us both and filled our hearts with joy for his willingness to even try it and for his maturity as a swimmer. (And he didn't turn blue, either!)

On Monday night, at the end-of-the-year swim banquet, Coach addressed each swimmer individually. Kyle, being a veteran and senior, was last to be recognized. The plaque for being Team Captain this year was expected,

but the Sportsmanship and Most Valuable Swimmer awards, too?! What a Proud Mom moment! I cannot express the depth of my joy in seeing this kid get validation of his hard work and dedication. He's grown into such a strong, hard-working, leader. Can a parent ask for anything more?

The answer is yes, actually; I've been hounding him like crazy to finish his Eagle Project paperwork. Hey, he's not out of the nest yet!

Rants and Raves

Little Ms. Blogger does a Rants and Raves post on Wednesdays. This week, I'm joining in!

Rave...That I can change my mind about posting this video on my blog today and instead, just put the link. Warning:  Rated PG13 and possibly offensive (but I think it's hilarious.) Hint: Remember when I said I wanted an IPad?

Rant...."Warning: Chantix may increase thoughts of suicide." Is that supposed to give depressed people hope? WTH?! It's a chance they're willing to take??

Rave...We can now see the light of day when we leave for school in the morning!!! HOORAY!!

Rant...Lotions and soaps in pumps that only go down to the last 1/4 inch of the bottle, forcing you to have to either throw them out or work to shake out your last dollar's worth--Grrrrr (Thanks, Judy!)

Rant...Social networking sites that publish your full name, along with your "alias" in Google searches. Thanks, you **&^#! If I wanted to go by my real name, I wouldn't have a nickname!  Grrrrr

Rave...That "LaLa's" adoption of little Alex is still on the table and in progress. Whew!

Rant...(Sarah, this one's for you!) Parents who accept at face-value every ridiculous story their eleven- year-old lying spawn dishes out about his homework and why it isn't done. Why, of course he's right; we just lied about his not turning it in on time, cuz we thrive on controversy. (And no, this isn't about Robert)

Wow! Ranting and raving is almost as satisfying as Friday Fragments!! Now, I feel ready to start my day. Visit Little Ms.Blogger to join in the fun!

Tasty Tuesday!

My friend, Michelle, at Honest and Truly often post for "Tasty Tuesday," so I thought I'd follow suit, but first, I'm going to share a very funny, dining-related story that my blogless sister, Judy, shared on Facebook this week. She and her husband, Allan, are incredible cooks and love gourmet dining at home.

I was making dinner tonight and realized that I had forgotten to buy a lemon for drizzling over our filo salmon. Then I remembered that we have a lemon tree (with one, big, juicy lemon on it) that we'd been nurturing for a very long time (It even survived the 400+ mile move from Memphis to Tulsa!) Over dinner, Allan said, "This is delicious, but I feel like I'm eating one of our children!" LOL!!!

And speaking of delicious, check out my latest offering at Mrs.4444 Cooks, Confetti Scalloped Potatoes (The kids and Mr.4444 loved them, and they are SUPER easy to make--no peeling of potatoes at all!)  and see what's cooking at Michelle's place :)

Ewwwwww!

A friend who was born in the 50's once joked, "I always felt sorry for my friend, Susy, whose parents had sex six times! My parents only did it twice." (At first, I thought she was serious, she said it with such disdain for the idea of her parents "doing it.")  Thankfully, the only evidence I ever observed of my parents having you-you-know-what was my eight siblings.

As far as nudity, I was only mildly traumatized about seeing my dad naked by the bathroom light now and then, in the middle of the night, as we passed each other in the hallway on the way to/from the bathroom. I remember being more disturbed by his lack of modesty than by the actual appendage. In my memory, Dad was always a happy, dopey drunk (it was when he wasn't drunk that we did our best to avoid him), so he would fart, burp, mumble something like, "Ooops!" and teeter his skinny butt back to bed.

We did have a couple in our neighborhood who were notorious (among the kids in the neighborhood) for liking sex (a lot).  If you hung out with their kids and slept at their house, it was rumored you would get an earful at one point or another.

So, do you have any stories about on this subject? I'm thinking some of you probably have some good/funny ones...

They're Baaaack

Just a quick note to let you know that I've turned Anonymous comments back on. I had turned it off because of a series of spammer comments that I grew tired of. I miss hearing from those of you without Google accounts or blogs, though (Cousin Lisa :) , so I'm going to give it another go!

Also, I'm having major computer problems with my old desktop (where my email is set up.) If you've emailed me and haven't heard from me, I apologize. I'm afraid I might just end up losing all of the emails in my inbox right now and hope to figure out how to get them onto my laptop, but I just don't have the brain power for that right now (feeling sick again!)  Wish me luck in getting things straightened out!

Sundays in My City

We attended our final swim meet this weekend (Sectionals). Last time, I showed you the curious hair dye tradition of swim meets. Today, I'm sharing a shot of the strange "towel styles." Sorry I missed getting a shot of the young man wearing the shark (toddler-sized) towel on his head today. You'll have to settle for this one, on the head of one of Tinytown's finest...

Yup, that's a ducky.  I also love the shot because it says a lot about the boys on Kyle's team. Even though they did not win a single meet this year (they are a small team, and 90% of the boys were swimming for the first time in their high school "careers."), they had a blast and supported each other along the way with enthusiasm.

On another subject, when we went out to a bar the night of the party, this sign caught my eye...

I guess it's safe to say the bar manager never won any spelling bees.

When my friends Dawn and Camille and I went to the Milwaukee area for the autism conference (at which we learned very little, unfortunately), we followed the dang GPS and took a detour that led to this part of town...

In case you can't read it (sorry it's a little blurry), the signs say, "Ho-ny Goat Hideaway," "Eat Me," "Drink Me," and "Park Here."  (We chose to get back on the highway and try again.) I just had to leave out the "r" in that word, because I prefer not to attract "that kind" of attention to my blog :)

And speaking of "that kind" of attention, I just have to share this local headline from the Tinytown community newspaper this week. Tell me I'm not the only one who finds the humor in this.

Think I should send it to Jay?

Visit Unknown Mami for photos from all over the world; it's like going on a mini virtual vacation. (And this time of year, who doesn't need one of those?!)

Saturday Sampling

You should have known better when you saw yesterday that I only had a handful of fragments; it shouldn't surprise you that my fragmented self had more than that to say!  So, yeah, I'm overflowing already...

***Some of you have asked me or written on your blogs of your concern for our friend, "Lala," whose blog inexplicably disappeared last week. (I spelled her name weird in order to avoid this showing up in a search engine or something.)  I received an email from her in response to my asking her what's up, and she gave her blessing on this update: The adoption agencies found her blogs and didn't appreciate some of the things she said about them. The adoption seemed in jeopardy but is now back on. Lala she is okay, but done blogging. (Though I can't believe she could stay gone forever!!! :) Please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers.

***Anyone who knows me will back me up when I say that I am a pretty fast walker. What can I say? I hate to waste time. That said, I cannot stand it when kids run in the hall at school; I've been barreled-into at least three times that resulted in bruises, so it's my pet peeve. A few weeks ago, I wrote four referrals in two days for running in the hallway; I figured the news would spread, and today I learned that my tactic worked. I heard one boy tear past my room. The friend behind him stopped near the doorway to our classroom, and I heard him whisper loudly, "Dude! Don't run by Mrs.4444's classroom!"  Mission accomplished.

***Kyle sent this text to me last weekend...

"This weekend, I tried sniffing coke, but I got an icecube stuck up my nose! :)"  He doesn't take after his dad at all, does he?!

***Speaking of texts, this Fragment from Unknown Mami (a Latina babe) is my favorite so far this week (and I still have tons from last week to read!) She's awesome. Here's an example of why:

My husband sent me a sweet text in Spanish, but he doesn't really speak or write Spanish. Here's our text exchange:

Unknown Papi: Te quedo

Unknown Mami: Thank u! I think u mean "quiero". Quedo sounds like a combo of quiero & pedo, which I guess would mean u want to fart me. (I'm not into that if ur wondering.)

U.M.-Here's the award! You deserve it!

**A parent at our school has taken it upon herself to help us raise money for our musical this spring (Willy Wonka!!)  She has so far produced at least 15 pairs of gorgeous mittens (made from old wool sweaters and fleece) that disappeared as fast as she could make them (at $15 per pair!) Aren't we lucky to have such a generous, thoughtful parent?! I think I will try really hard to talk her into having another kid so that we can keep her at the middle school longer.

***Have you ever had the experience of not knowing a door was even there until someone opened it?  This happens to me all the time (and I mean it literally, not figuratively.)  It's always an amusing surprise.

***Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait to sleep in tomorrow!! Beware to anyone foolish enough to call me before 9am at the earliest! :)

Have a great weekend!!

Friday Fragments, Episode #81

I'm glad you're here. Please lie down on the couch over there. I have some preliminary questions for you...When is the first time you felt fragmented?  Is your head overflowing with thoughts, observations, questions or quotes from your week?  Do you feel like you just need to unload?  I'm very glad you've finally accepted your fragmented condition, and I'm happy to say I have the treatment--It's FRIDAY FRAGMENTS!! (And Thank You, my lovely assistant, Evansmom, for the inspiration for this intro :) [Click on the button above to figure out what the heck I'm talking about!]

***Last night, Kyle mused, "I would love to study abroad in Italy." I told him that there is no need to go all the way to Italy to study women; there are plenty here! (Badump-bump!)

***I would very much like to have an IPad when they come out; it sounds like something that would be very useful for working with special needs students.  If anyone from Apple is reading and would like me to sample one for a while at school, I would be more than happy to help you out...

***I have another Favorite Friday Fragment, this time from a man...

You women have a secret weapon.  Did you know that?  No, I'm not talking about sex.  I recently read an article where it said that terrorist groups are recruiting women for suicide bombing missions on airplanes.  Know how they're supposed to pull this off?  BOOBS!  That's right, according to the information from intelligence sources, they are working on implanting explosives into a woman's  breasts.  And the explosives would be undetectable by airport security.  Scary!  All I can say is that the next time I'm flying, I will have a perfect excuse for looking at your boobs.  All in the name of safety, of course. Matty Thoughts

Matty, you're awesome. I hearby prescribe this button for any ailments you might have (such as your knee, maybe?)  Enjoy!

That's all for me this week! See how healing Friday Fragments are? Now that you've received your prescription, Fragment away! And leave your FRIDAY FRAGMENTS link here, please. (other links will be deleted, sorry.) Oh, and do say hello to some of the other patients; we're all in this together, haha.

My Favorites Cup Overfloweth

Slowly but surely catching up with last week's 57 fragmenters (WOOHOO! Another record!), and there are some real winners in the Favorite Friday Fragmenters category so far, so I wanted to share them. (If you don't laugh or at least smile at each of these, please email me for emotional support.)  

***Do you think Superwoman got her powers from Cheez-it Snack mix and Redbull? Because I'm pretty sure that's all I've eaten today. Oh yeah, and brownies. Mmmmm brownies.... from Annie, of The Rational Mind of a Crazy Woman.

***From Tena, of Tena's Therapy (This is part of a really funny story that took place at the grocery store.)
".....and then I saw this look of horror in her eyes- absolute panic.  She starts jumping up and down and screaming, “there’s a coffee bean stuck up my nose!”   I fell to the ground I was laughing so hard and because of an incontinence problem, I could not enjoy this moment fully if pee was running down my leg."

***From Nancy C at Away We Go ....

Just the other day, I had to be talked down from tossing my wedding dress. I said, "What, should I save it for Owen or Joel to wear?"

My friend said, "You could always make a pantsuit."

Another friend was quick to add, "If Joel plans to wear a shiny ivory pantsuit, I'm taking my daughter off the table." (You do that, don't you? Plan the nuptials of your respective children with girlfriends so you can have a really good wedding reception with your best friends?)  


***Smellyann's Cute Kid Quote:

☼

Jack, 6, asked me, "Mommy, what's your grandma's name?"

Me: "Ruth"

Jack: "Roof?!! That's a house name!"

☼

Ladies, please accept this award...(Don't fight over it--You may each take it, haha.) Thanks for the laughs.

 

So yeah, Fragmenters are pretty darned funny sometimes. And if you liked these, you should go check out the rest! :)

Making a Difference II

Whenever I pray in the morning (sorry, I'm not very devout, so I don't always remember), I ask God to use me to make a difference for kids. Every single time I do that, He follows suit. Today was no exception, only with a little twist.

Robert and I haven't been getting along too well, ever since he spent that week on the "F-List," unable to wrestle, a few weeks back. We just have this adversarial relationship most of the time; I hound him about his homework, call home and narc him out to his family about it, etc. He glowers at me and fights me at every turn but is passing, nonetheless. There just isn't much time during which either one of us smiles at each other anymore. Frankly, I've been getting tired of putting in so much work that is obviously not appreciated by Robert.

Last weekend, I was grading journals (which we do every couple of weeks) when I came upon one of Robert's entries (from when he was on the F-list)....

"I wish I was still in wrestling. I had to quit because I was falling off task.  I failed my goal, and no turning back, I have to catch up.  I just wish life is easy.  Life isn't fair.  I tried to be like everyone else. I just can't."

Broke. My. Heart.

Today, Robert said casually, in homeroom, "There's a wrestling tournament tonight. At school."

I was distracted and replied, "Oh, really? Are you wrestling?"  I don't remember what he replied, because, honestly, I was too busy to think about it and got distracted.

Later, in the last class of the day, Robert said again, "Mrs.4444, did you know there's a wrestling tournament at school tonight?"

"Oh, that's cool," I replied. "I should try to go to that if it doesn't get cancelled because of the weather."  I was very busy (again), so I didn't notice if he responded.

An hour later (about 4:30pm), I was working late (waiting for Kyle to finish swim practice at 5:30pm) when an "Alert Now" message about a wrestling practice being canceled popped up on my screen, and had a fleeting thought that I was glad I was off the hook.  At 5pm, something told me to open that message, and I saw that it was actually for the grade school, not the middle school. Shoot. That meant the wrestling tournament was probably going on in the gym, and I had missed half of it. I quickly packed up and headed down.

Robert had already wrestled one match (I think that's what they're called, anyway.)  I could see him sitting across the gym with his team.  I wasn't sure if he saw me sneak in so late or not. A nice man checked the schedule for me, and I saw that Robert had one more match left, so I sat down to wait. As luck would have it, about 30 minutes later, Robert walked up for his match on the mat right in front of the bleachers I was sitting on!  He looked so pumped and focused!!

I know nothing about wrestling, but I know it's exciting! Robert is a short little guy, but stocky, strong, and persistent!  In the first period (I think there are three), I found myself yelling, "Get 'em, Robert!"  The referee (or whatever he's called) blew his whistle to apparently end the first period, and I kid you not, that kid stopped for a second, looked directly up at me in the stands, and flashed me a smile that lit up his whole face! He quickly got back to business and cleaned up on his opponent, winning the match in no time. I was especially impressed by the way he listened to every word his coach said to him during the match, adjusting his footing, rising up, etc. and attentively listened to his coach's feedback after the match.

My heart is full from seeing Robert dominate the wrestling mat and feel so proud of himself, his little chest puffed out, arms pumped up.  What I realize, as I reflect on this now, is that tonight, Robert made a difference in me, and I am not ashamed to tell you that it chokes me up to realize that. I am reminded that smiles like those, self-esteem boost,s and moments of pride-filled elation, are what make every bit of effort teachers put in worth it,

and I am going to keep harassing that little stinker.

Summers in My City

This photo didn't quite fit with the memes I did this weekend, so it's getting its own billing today. I'd never seen it before my sister, Judy (in the middle) posted it on Facebook on Saturday, and it moved me, for a few reasons.  One is the slightly-troubled expression on my face (on the right.) It's not the face of a carefree kid, happily enjoying a beautiful summer day at the pool down the street. I was probably eight or nine in the photo, and knowing a couple of things that were going on with me at that age, this sweet little face touches me; I want to put my arms around that little me and tell her I love her and take her out for ice cream. (I also love my suntan and buff little arms, no doubt toned by hours spent on the trapeze at Astor Park.)

Judy's happy, silly expression brings me joy, and that's our baby sister, Michelle, on the left, tongue stuck out as a rudder for balance as she tries to lie down in the just-right position next to her big sisters.

The photo shows the sweetness of a summer day in the sun, but it hides a darker side. Lest you ever think I was a wonderful sister, hanging out with my little sibs, I'll share with you a different story that happened at Astor Park. Poor Judy fell off the aforementioned trapeze (I think) and busted her lip on the wooden bench below. She was bleeding pretty good, so I knew we needed to go home (a block away), quick. So, yes, being the responsible big sister that I was, I hopped on my bike to escort Judy home.

What?!  Well, yes, I did make her run alongside me.  What?!  Like I was going to let her spill her dumb blood on my bike! Have you no sanity? (Or sisters?)

Got Chocolate?

It's a wonder anyone in my family lives past the age of 50, what with all of the good-old-fashioned, loaded-with- sugar-and-fat type dessert recipes handed down over the generations and kept up (for tradition sake, of course.) My mom is especially a fan of fattening desserts, but since she's 80 years old, I'd say she's living proof that all of the health experts are wrong.

On Sunday, I made two different pans of dessert bars for an event at school. I had both made by 9:30am, and Mr.4444 (when he dragged himself out of bed, haha) said incredulously, "So you just whipped those up with ingredients you found in the house?"  The answer was yes; the recipes were that basic. There's something to be said for simplicity.

I posted the first bar recipe (along with witty commentary, of course) at Mrs.4444 Cooks today. Why not pop over and see what you missed? You can whip these babies up in no time...

Weekly Winners/Sundays in My City

Holy cow! I almost forgot to post tonight, and I'm deliriously tired for a Saturday night. Forgive me if I talk nonsense...

We attended the Conference Swim Meet today, in Manitowoc (man-i-toe-wok), Wisconsin. You know you're at a conference swim meet when you see this....

(They're in the stands because they are the divers of their team, and diving was yesterday.)  Thank goodness they can shave it off eventually.  Kyle's is more yellowish, and only two kids on his team (captains) were brave enough. (Sorry....I forgot again to take a pic of his....he was wearing a swim cap, anyway!!)

For the record, the bathroom floor at Lincoln High School is freakishly annoying; see if you don't agree....

It was really hard to look at (even now, it's making me a little queasy) and actually made me feel a little disoriented. What were they thinking (about a 100 years ago, when they built the school)?

I couldn't help but notice a similar pattern in this shot, but I found it much more tranquil....

The calm...

.

Before the storm...

Kyle (on the far block) was so ready...

He achieved two Personal Record times today, in the 50-Free and 100-Free. After the 50-Free, he stopped by where we were sitting nearby, all lit-up and happy, wanting to share the great news (as if we hadn't noticed.)  As he walked back to his team, the lady in front of me turned around and said,

"Was that your son? That just warms my heart."

Mine, too.

For more Weekly Winners and Sundays in My City (or nearby cities, as it were :) photo posts,
visit Saracastic Mom and Unknown Mami!

We Partied Like It Was 1999

Mr.4444 and I went out tonight! WooHoo! (Yeah, we're party animals like that. Hence, the later hour of this post.) We went to a "Mystery Tunes" party hosted by my friend Molly and her boyfriend, Matt. Party goers were invited (though not required) to come dressed as music artists. (No, I did not dress up. Yes, Mr.4444 did, but only with a little, pointed green hat and a bottle of maple syrup, haha.) I thought it would be fun to see if you can guess who the famous musicians in these pics are....(I'll put the answers in the comments.)

1.and 2.

 

3.

 

4.

 

5. and 6. Hint: They sang a duet together in 1979.

 

7. 8. and 9.

   

 Hint: the woman on the right has her long, black hair up in a loose bun and a long skirt with cowboys on it.

The last pic (#10 and #11) is my favorite, of Molly and her son, Brandon.

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When the party got rockin', we headed to a nearby karaoke bar, where everyone sang the songs of their alter egos and danced with muscles we haven't used in years.  We haven't had that much fun in a long time! 

Okay, now's your chance (before you peek), any guesses?